WEBVTT
AS WELL AS WHAT HE EVENTUALLY
TERMED EXTREME VETTING.
THE OPTIMISM IS THE POSSIBLE END
OF THAT RHETORIC AND IT IS
CALLED FREE UNITY.
IN REJOICING IN HIS ELECTION
NIGHT VICTORY, PRESIDENT-ELECT
DONALD TRUMP TOOK AN APPROACH OF
AMERICAN UNITY.
>> NOW IT'S TIME FOR AMERICA TO
BIND THE WOUNDS OF DIVISION.
WE HAVE TO GET TOGETHER.
TO ALL REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS
AND INDEPENDENTS ACROSS THIS
NATION, I SAY IT IS TIME FOR US
TO COME TOGETHER AS ONE, UNITED
PEOPLE.
MAX: IT'S A STARK CONTRAST FROM
NEARLY A YEAR AGO, WHEN IN THE
WAKE OF THE SAN BERNARDINO
SHOOTING, HE CALLED FOR A
COMPLETE AND TOTAL BAN ON
MUSLIMS ENTERING THE U.S.
>> AFTER ALL THESE YEARS IN
AMERICA, WE LEARN NOT TO REALLY
GET THE PERSON WHO'S RUNNING FO
THE OFFICE, GET AHEAD IN
WHATEVER HE SAY BEFORE ELECTION.
BECAUSE AFTER ELECTION, THERE'S
A LOT OF THINGS THAT START.
MAX: SHERIF HAMID HAS BEEN IN
THE COUNTRY NEARLY THREE
DECADES.
HE SAYS THE CANDIDATE WANTED TO
APPEAL TO HIS BASE, BUT THOSE
COMMENTS DO CREATE SERIOUS
CONCERNS FOR MUSLIMS IN AMERICA.
>> THE TONE, WHAT DONALD TRUMP
WAS USING, THE HATRED, T
DIVISION, IT MAKES EVERYBODY
SCARED.
MAX: IT'S THAT TONE THAT ALSO
DRAWS CONCERN FROM THE COUNCIL
ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS, A
CIVIL RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY GROUP.
>> THE COMMUNITY IS PRETTY
APPREHENSIVE ABOUT THE RESULTS
AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR
COMMUNITY, WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE
COUNTRY.
MAX: WHERE THIS IS APPREHENSION,
THERE IS ALSO HOPE.
THE VICE CHAIR OF THE SACRAMENTO
AREA LEAGUE OF ASSOCIATED
MUSLIMS BELIEVES THAT BY WORKING
WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, A
BETTER UNDERSTANDING CAN BE
ACHIEVED.
>> MUSLIMS ARE SOPHISTICATED
ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLITICAL
RHETORIC AND ACTUAL GOVERNING.
SO, WE DO LOOK FORWARD TO, AS
HILLARY SUGGESTED, TRYING TO
LOOK AT THIS NEW PRESIDENCY WITH
AN OPEN MIND.
MAX: IT'S AN APPROACH SHAREF AND
OTHER MUSLIMS WE SPOKE WITH
TODAY PLAN TO TAKE.
>> HOPEFULLY, WE PASS ALL THIS,
OK?
AND LIKE WHAT I SAID, AMERICAN

Sacramento’s Muslim advocacy organizations paid close attention to Tuesday night’s presidential election outcome, as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s call for unity. In his comments over the past year and half, they see both concern and room for hope about being Muslim in America.

FAST FACTS

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--Donald Trump once called for “complete and total ban of Muslims entering the United States”--Council on American Islamic Relations said Sacramento’s Muslim community is apprehensive about Trump--SALAM Islamic Center works to educate people about Islam, as well as demystify it

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. (We) have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one, united people,” Trump said during his victory speech Tuesday night.

Those words are in stark contrast from what Trump said months before he was chosen as the 45th president.

Less than a year ago, in the wake of the deadly San Bernardino shooting, Trump called for a “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

His rhetoric on the matter changed over time, eventually landing at “extreme vetting” of people entering the United States from countries compromised by terrorism.

“The community is pretty apprehensive about the results and what this means for our community -- what it means for the country,” said Basim Elkarra, executive director of Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Elkarra, who said attacks against Muslims have increased and coincided with Trump’s run for the White House, remains hopeful about Muslims’ place in the Sacramento region.

He said interfaith efforts play integral role in bringing people together to see through their differences.

Trump’s change in tone Tuesday night also caught the ear of Anne Kjemtrup, vice chair of the Sacramento-Area League of Muslims.

“Muslims are sophisticated enough to understand the difference between political rhetoric and actual governing," Kjemtrup said. "So we do look forward to, as Hillary (Clinton) suggested, trying to look at this new presidency with an open mind."

To do so, Kjemtrup believes groups like SALAM and CAIR must continue to do community outreach to demystify Islam so they can achieve great acceptance and understanding.